Fat DOES NOT make you fat!

As we’ve previously discussed, fat does NOT make you fat. Sugar does. So what is the “skinny” on fats? Back in the day, it was discovered that arterial plaque contained fat and cholesterol. The assumption was made that these actually caused the clots that led to heart disease. In many studies since then, the truth is gradually beginning to emerge.

Sugar is actually the culprit that damages arteries causing inflammation. The body goes into defense mode sending materials that consist of fats and cholesterol to repair the damage. An extreme example of the damage that sugar can cause is diabetic neuropathy and retinopathy. People suffer from pain in their extremities (neuropathy), and damage that can and does cause blindness (retinopathy), due to an excess of sugar in their bloodstream!

So what does fat do? According to Jordan Rubin in “The Maker’s Diet Revolution”, we have to have healthy fats in our diet. Fats are necessary for the proper function of our brain and nervous system. They are needed for protection of the body and vital organs. Fats also make us feel fuller so we end up eating less.

Healthy fats are found in a wide variety of foods: olives and olive oil, coconuts, avocados, wild caught fish, grass-fed organic meats, eggs, nuts and seeds, and organic dairy products. As we all know, trans-fats are bad. The molecular structure has been modified in such a manner as to cause a release of free radicals in our system. Scientists now believe that this can contribute to many kinds of cancers in addition to contributing to the inflammation in our arteries. These types of fats are found in vegetable oils, margarines, and a LOT of processed foods.

In 1900, Heart Disease and Cancer accounted for only 18% of all deaths, but now the percentage has climbed to 63%. Some of the shift can be attributed to the reduction in other diseases that were prominent over a century ago, but in my opinion the drastic shift is probably due to the drastic change in our diets from whole, natural foods to chemical ladened processed and fast foods.

So, how did this happen? I thought that the purpose of the government, specifically the Food and Drug Administration, was to keep us safe and healthy? Well, apparently it’s become much more profitable to fill our foods with high fructose corn syrup, trans-fats, GMO food stuffs, and other dubious chemicals and additives. According to the authors of “Cruise Ship or Nursing Home” (page 30) who quoted Dr. George V. Mann: “The diet-heart hypothesis has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, and yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit, and prejudice, the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fund-raising enterprises, food companies, and even governmental agencies. The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century.”

Well, I for one do not plan on idly floating down the river of dietary complacency, getting heavier and unhealthier all the time, and ending up on a myriad of pills to mask a bunch of symptoms that I shouldn’t have. Neither should YOU! Let’s start getting trim and fit together!